SECURING THE PEACE. Guiding the International Community towards Women s Effective Participation throughout Peace Processes

Transcription

1 SECURING THE PEACE Guiding the International Community towards Women s Effective Participation throughout Peace Processes United Nations Development Fund for Women October 2005

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3 SECURING THE PEACE Guiding the International Community towards Women s Effective Participation throughout Peace Processes United Nations Development Fund for Women October 2005

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5 Contents Acknowledgments Foreword: To the Reader i iii Introduction 1 Why Involve Women? 1 The Role of the International Community in Peace Processes 3 I. Amplifying Women s Voices 5 A. Women are more likely to make an impact on negotiations when they convene as a constituency of women with a common agenda for peace 5 Recommended Actions 6 B.Early in the peace process, the identification of strategic entry points for women s participation can significantly heighten their access to the table and impact on the accords. 7 Recommended Actions 7 II. Constructing an Enabling Environment 9 A. Structures and mechanisms within the office of the facilitator, mediator, or mission can enhance the integration of a gender perspective in peace negotiations 9 Recommended Actions 9 B.Women and their organizations require specific forms of support to maximize their participation in peace negotiations 10 Recommended Actions 12 III. Sustaining Women s Involvement 13 A.Women have specific needs, priorities and strategies that must be included in the peace agreement to guarantee their fulfillment during implementation 13 Recommended Actions 14 B. After a peace agreement has been signed, opportunities exist to maximize women s participation in implementation and monitoring efforts 14 Recommended Actions 16 Conclusion 18 Further Reading 19 Annex 1: International Instruments 21 Endnotes 23 Boxes see over

6 Boxes Box 1: Supporting a Common Women s Platform in the DRC 6 Box 2: Winning Constituency Support for the Women s Peace Movement in Northern Ireland 7 Box 3: Expanding the Peace Table to Include Civil Society Perspectives in Guatemala 8 Box 4: Institutionalizing a Gender-sensitive Negotiating Capability: IGAD s Women s Desk 10 Box 5: Making Sure Women Get a Hearing: International Efforts to Brief Negotiating Parties in Burundi 13 Box 6: From Peace to Recovery: Ensuring a Response to Women s Needs in Sudan 15

7 Acknowledgements Editors: Klara Banaszak, Camille Pampell Conaway, Anne Marie Goetz, Aina Iiyambo and Maha Muna Cover and book design: Diana Quick Cover Photo: UNIFEM photo library: Women protesting for peace in Moldova. Submitted for UNIFEM CIS Photo Competition under the slogan Women for Peace, Equality and Economic Security. The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) acknowledges the work of women throughout the world whose courage and determination have led to increased recognition of the value of including women in peace negotiations. The Fund thanks the facilitators who have supported women s participation in the various peace processes cited in this publication. Our thanks also go to Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, Visaka Dharmadasa, Vjosa Dobruna, Jennifer Klot, Dasa Silovic and Sherrill Whittington for their insights and reflections and to Ivana Krizanic,, who provided research for this publication. This report has also benefited from the guidance of the Expert Group composed of women with experience in peace negotiations, to whom the Fund is immensely grateful: Carla Koppell (Women Waging Peace), Asha Hagi Elmi (Somalia), Luz Mendez (Guatemala), Sharon Bhagwan Rolls (Fiji) and Sabine Sabimbona (Burundi). The input and contributions from the United Nations Department of Political Affairs have enriched the publication and the recommendations contained herein. Finally, this publication could not have been possible had it not been for many staff members of UNIFEM, particularly Aina Iiyambo who led the research, consultations and production. We are grateful for insights by staff who provided information and reflected on years of personal experience supporting peace negotiations. i

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9 Foreword: To the Reader This publication targets the following actors: mediators and facilitators of peace negotiations and their teams; international and regional organizations; United Nations entities, particularly the Department of Political Affairs (DPA); international development banks; donor countries; international governmental and non-governmental organizations; and parties to formal negotiations. This report provides concrete recommendations to: a) support women s effective participation at all stages of a peace process, b) promote gender-sensitive peace negotiations and agreements, and c) encourage the mainstreaming of a gender perspective throughout the implementation of peace accords. It builds on and complements other resources that have addressed the issue of gender-sensitive peace processes, including Women at the Peace Table, by Sanam Naraghi Anderlini (2000), Peace Agreements as a Means for Promoting Gender Equality and Ensuring Participation of Women A Framework of Model Provisions: Report of the Expert Group Meeting (2003) and the chapter devoted to peace negotiations and agreements in the International Alert Women Waging Peace handbook, Inclusive Security, Sustainable Peace: A Toolkit for Advocacy and Action (2004). 1 The energetic commitment of the actors listed above is necessary to bring women to the peace table and to integrate a gender perspective in the design and implementation of the agreements. The guidelines in this report offer a variety of steps to meet these goals. It is the task of the actors themselves to identify which activities are most relevant and appropriate to the specific context and to their capacity and mandate. iii

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11 Introduction The transition from war to peace opens a unique window of opportunity to address the root causes of conflict and transform institutions, structures and relationships within society. Increasingly, formal peace processes create a space for negotiation of deeper-rooted societal and political issues, such as post-war power-sharing; constitutional, electoral and legislative reform; disarmament and reintegration of combatants; and decisions relating to refugees and internally displaced persons. Ongoing support from a wide range of stakeholders is crucial to lasting peace and to the success of negotiated settlements in the fragile early post-conflict period. It is essential to ensure the active involvement of women and the articulation of gender equality from the earliest stages of peace talks through to implementation and monitoring of agreements. Not only do women have their own perspectives on political solutions and national recovery priorities to offer, but if they are excluded from peace accords this has tended, in the past, to guarantee their subsequent exclusion from public decision-making institutions. Around the world, women have laboured to build and maintain peace at the community level and can bring this knowledge and experience to the negotiation table. Women who appreciate the ways that inequality and injustice hinder human development can make the negotiation and implementation of peace agreements more constructive. The prospects for sustainable peace and development are greatly improved by tapping into women s understanding of the challenges faced by civilian populations and their insights into the most effective ways to address them. Why Involve Women? As victims, survivors and even wagers of armed conflict, women are major stakeholders in the resolution of conflict and the course that is set for future development. Despite their civilian status, women and children have increasingly become specific targets of attack, and sexual violence is emerging as a method of waging war in order to destroy communities and families. In addition, more often than is widely known, women are armed fighters alongside men. Whether as victims or combatants, women often shoulder an additional burden due to traditional gender roles: their labour, strength and determination maintain their families and communities during war and throughout the long, slow process of rebuilding the peace. A number of international commitments outline women s right to full involvement in political and economic decision-making, including numerous resolutions of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action and United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security (see Annex 1 for details on the provisions of the various international commitments). Implementing these commitments would be a first step toward utilizing all available resources to establish and sustain peace. When approaching the difficult task of ending war, the stakes are too high to neglect the resources that women have to offer. Examples from around the world illustrate their contributions. Women s organizations persistently advocate for peace. Their focus and demand can be instrumental in initiating formal peace negotiations, maintaining support for the process and facilitating implementation of the accords. In Colombia, for example, despite repeated attacks, disappearances, kidnappings and threats against women leaders, they continue to organize, develop agendas for peace and lobby for their implementation. In 1999, women s organizations were at the Securing the Peace 1

12 forefront of a civil society campaign leading to peace talks between President Andrés Pastrana and the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC). And since the collapse of the dialogues in 2002, women s groups remain the primary vocal advocates for renewed negotiations. 2 Women often build a foundation for peace negotiations. In Northern Ireland, for example, women's groups spent a decade building trust between Protestants and Roman Catholics, creating a foundation upon which the agreements would ultimately be built. By highlighting the personal cost of the violence and drawing attention to the tangible effects of war on people s lives, they convinced both the parties to the negotiations and the public that living and the quality of life...were the issues that mattered even more than the contentious political issues being negotiated. 3 Women can catalyze peace negotiations. In Sri Lanka, a leading businesswoman began a massive awareness-raising campaign to support the start of negotiations in More than one million Sri Lankans publicly demonstrated their support for peace, pressuring leaders to begin peace talks. Women can build ties among opposing factions. In Somalia, women presented themselves as a sixth clan at the National Reconciliation Conference in Arta, Djibouti, reaching beyond clan divisions to a vision of gender equality. They ultimately assisted in the creation of a National Charter that guaranteed women 25 seats in the 245-member Transitional National Assembly. 4 Women can increase the inclusiveness, transparency and sustainability of the peace process. During South Africa s post-apartheid transition, a coalition of women s groups advocated for and achieved a more democratic process for constitutional and legislative reform. A participatory approach that required the government to seek civil society input on proposed policies was adopted. This resulted in the expansion of the definition and scope of security and allowed the population to articulate its concerns in a national dialogue on security sector reform. 5 Women can bring a different perspective from men to negotiations, raising issues that might otherwise be ignored. In El Salvador, women leaders at the negotiation table and in implementation committees ensured that the names of women fighters, as well as non-combatant supporters of the opposition movement, were included in beneficiary lists for land and other resources. Providing for supporters, in particular, averted a near certain crisis among the peasant population and was something their male colleagues had neglected up to that point. 6 A gender perspective in the peace process can lead to long-term advances for women s equality. Among the 500 representatives to Afghanistan s Congressional drafting committee, 102 were women of various languages, ethnicities and political affiliations. 7 Overcoming many obstacles, their presence and persistence led to a guarantee of women s equality in the final draft of the new constitution, including a quota for women in the lower house of parliament. Women often complement official peace-building efforts. In Liberia, women s organizations campaigned for the disarmament of factions before the handover of power to the new transitional government per the terms of the Cotonou Accord (1993). They also raised funds to buy and subsequently destroy weapons. Amos Sawyer, Liberia s interim president from 1990 to 1993, notes: I recall, even up to the day that the interim government was handing over, there were women carrying placards and saying, Disarmament has not taken place and this indeed is a mistake. If disarmament had taken place back in we probably wouldn t have had April 6, 1996 [when fighting reached Monrovia]. 8 Women can foster reconciliation and provide an example for moving society forward. In Rwanda, women formed the first cross-party parliamentary caucus, composed of both Hutus and Tutsis, addressing issues of concern to women from all political parties. This set the precedent for other cross-party caucuses to be established. 2 UNIFEM

13 Women often work to sustain the peace agreement at all levels. In Bougainville in 1998, women returned from peace talks to their communities and were reportedly the only leaders to initiate an information campaign for the public to comprehend the decisions of the peace accord and the next steps in its implementation. Ensuring women s effective participation involves a range of actions. Even before peace processes officially begin, the international community can support diverse women s peace-building activities at local and national levels, facilitating their development of a common agenda for peace, and strengthening their capacity as leaders to prepare them for the negotiating table and the post-conflict transition. During the negotiations, women from various backgrounds must be brought forward in official and informal capacities so that the voices and experiences of women throughout the country will be considered during decision-making that will affect all of society. And once the agreement is signed, women must continue to participate in implementation and monitoring mechanisms, ensuring that the priorities of half the population are allocated resources and attention in the post-conflict environment. Ultimately, the peace process is compromised when women do not participate. It has been recognized that inclusiveness is necessary to ensure the legitimacy of the decision-making process, to encourage a broad base of participation and to make sustainable peace and development possible. And indeed, many instances exist of international efforts to promote broad ethnic, religious and political representation in peace negotiations, transitional institutions and post-conflict reconstruction. Efforts to include women in such processes are equally important. The Role of the International Community in Peace Processes Various actors within the international community individuals and institutions, government and civil society play a variety of roles in peace processes: setting the agenda; acting as official third-party mediators, facilitators or trusted outsider-neutrals ; sponsoring or hosting peace talks; offering support and encouragement to negotiating parties to move the process forward; and establishing monitoring and verification mechanisms for implementation of the accord. The international community is thus in a critical position to support women s participation at the peace table, to build women s capacity as effective participants and to ensure that women s needs and contributions are not overlooked during implementation. Negotiating peace is a complex process, and resulting settlements are often fragile. Various contexts and circumstances require different approaches: where one situation might permit an inclusive process that examines the root causes of conflict, another might require exclusive talks on a narrow range of issues. Entry points for women, however, do exist in every case. This publication offers a range of recommendations of means through which the international community can facilitate women s participation before, during and after peace negotiations. A UNIFEM review of peace processes in Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East identified several key factors that are necessary to guarantee women s participation at the peace table and the integration of a gender perspective into accords. I. Building a constituency of women with a gender-sensitive agenda and creatively bringing women to the peace table are key in the critical early stages of the peace process. II. An enabling environment for women s participation including the establishment of structures to facilitate women s input and strategic support to women is necessary throughout negotiations. III. Addressing women s priorities in the peace agreement and ensuring gender-sensitive implementation are vital to ensure post-conflict gains for women. Securing the Peace 3

14 Practical, targeted recommendations are offered to realize each of these goals. Select case studies, lessons learned and best practices are also offered to demonstrate the practical implications of the recommended actions. In his report to the Security Council on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security, the Secretary-General called on Member States, entities of the United Nations and civil society to develop comprehensive guidelines and training initiatives based on the framework of model provisions on promoting gender equality in peace agreements. 9 Moreover, the Secretary- General declared his intention to analyze obstacles to and missed opportunities for women s participation in recent peace negotiations and to develop strategies accordingly, a plan welcomed by the Security Council. Securing the Peace is offered as UNIFEM s first contribution towards the development of these guidelines. In this way, the Fund hopes to ensure that from the outset the experience and knowledge women have gained through their real-life efforts inform the strategies being developed on their behalf. The overarching goal envisioned in Securing the Peace is a locally driven, locally owned and inclusive process wherein women can assert their right to participate in the decisions being taken about their future and which will result in the signing and implementation of a gender-sensitive peace agreement. A narrow window of opportunity exists for a gender perspective to be incorporated in the transformative processes that follow conflict; these begin with the negotiations that end war and create a foundation for peace. The guidelines offered here point the way to helping women make the most of that window, so they contribute to and benefit from a lasting, just and inclusive peace. 4 UNIFEM

15 I. Amplifying Women s Voices A. Women are more likely to make an impact on negotiations when they convene as a constituency of women with a common agenda for peace. Although parties to conflict typically have distinct priorities and demands and may be resistant to the inclusion of additional issues, the agenda and topics addressed during the talks often outline an initial framework for peace. The issues discussed during negotiations are as important to women as they are to men; to be effective in preventing a resurgence of conflict, peace agreements must address the needs of the entire population. Women s voices and perspectives must be heard from the outset at the negotiating table if their views are to be integrated in the peace process. Given the difficulties inherent in negotiating peace, attempts to bring women s voices to the talks are most successful when those voices are unified in their demands. However, like men, women differ dramatically in their political ideas, affiliations and attitudes, making them anything but a homogenous group. Their perspectives hinge on their experiences during the conflict, which will vary according to race, ethnicity, religion, class, age, profession and geographic location, among other factors. Thus when women are able to formulate a consensus-based platform, their diversity adds tremendous credibility, legitimacy and force to their demands. Supporting women from diverse regions and backgrounds to unite around common priorities for peace and reconstruction in order to inform negotiations can be a first step to increasing women s effective involvement in the peace process. Throughout this process, it is critical for international support to be advisory and facilitative, rather than prescriptive, so that local women s groups can take full ownership of any final decisions taken, recommendations drafted or networks created. A variety of exercises have proven useful to facilitate a common platform. First, a diverse group of recognized women leaders must be chosen from among relevant constituencies. Thus often as a result of the diversity of the group significant time is necessary to allow the women to meet and begin to trust one another, particularly as they may be coming from opposing sides of a conflict. In Colombia, women have actually spent months even years to arrive at a women s agenda for peace. In most cases, however, women s availability consists of only a few days, where they may be convened at a neutral, international location. In this situation, providing a specific opportunity for women leaders to share their experiences of the conflict with each other is critical; barriers are often broken down at this point, setting the stage for collaboration and consensus building. Confidencebuilding measures are essential before and at the start of any meetings; these might include, for instance, promoting exchanges of information, experience and expertise with women from other countries. Women leaders often recognize that a strategic alliance between women s groups can be based on a minimum common agenda of securing women s place at the peace table, allowing them to set aside other differences temporarily. At this early stage, capacity building and technical training on mediation and negotiations are also critical in order to prepare women to participate in the official process, honing their abilities and maximizing their contribution. Recommended Actions I.A.1. Assist women in identifying strategic entry points to the peace process, including key allies, supporters and donors as well as critical issues on the agenda regarding equality and opportunity. I.A.2. Encourage female delegates of negotiating parties, in particular, to meet with women s civil society organizations to foster greater public ownership and investment in the process. Securing the Peace 5

16 Box 1: Supporting a Common Women s Platform in the DRC When parties to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced their intention to hold an Inter-Congolese Dialogue a national convention on political reform and reconciliation that would include civil society groups women across the country were determined to take part. They advocated for formal participation, drawing on Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) as a foundation for their campaign. In response, a series of initiatives was launched to prepare women for participation and to elevate their voices in the negotiations. First, with support from the facilitator of the talks Sir Ketumile Masire, former president of Botswana UNIFEM conducted a women s Peace Table in October 2001, resulting in the inclusion of gender issues and women s participation as substantive items on the official agenda. Second, in December 2001, a delegation of African women leaders led by Ruth Sando Perry, former head of state of Liberia, travelled to the DRC in a peace and solidarity mission, which was organized by FAS and the DRC branch of Women as Partners for Peace in Africa (WOPPA-DRC) with funding from UNDP, UNHCR and UNESCO and additional support from the Organization for African Unity and UNIFEM. The peace and solidarity mission succeeded in raising the profile of women s demands for inclusion and promoting a broad consensus on women s effective participation and the mainstreaming of their agenda in the peace process. As a result, 60 women from across the DRC representing government, armed opposition, political opposition and civil society the parties to the Inter-Congolese Dialogue convened in Nairobi, Kenya, in February 2002 for a national forum to harmonize their position and articulate a common vision. The cross-party workshop organized by FAS and WOPPA DRC and supported by UNIFEM and the government of Canada, in addition to providing a space for capacity-building, gave the diverse group of women an opportunity to negotiate among themselves to build a women s platform for peace. This was no easy task, as women faced one another across the same divisions that the Inter-Congolese Dialogue itself was trying to overcome. In the four days they spent together, the women succeeded in compiling the Nairobi Declaration and Action Plan, which called for gender sensitivity to be mainstreamed throughout the dialogue, for the international community to allocate sufficient resources to implement the Declaration, and for the facilitator to incorporate it directly into the agenda for negotiations. 10 The efforts of women and support of international organizations and civil society to train women leaders and provide a space for formulating a common agenda led to significant progress. When the dialogue resumed, there were 36 women among the 300 delegates, and Article 51 of the 2003 transitional Constitution guarantees women s full participation in decision-making during postconflict reconstruction. I.A.3. Facilitate exchanges of information and experience between national stakeholders (both women s groups and negotiating parties) and regional or international partners for instance, women from countries that underwent similar peace processes. I.A.4. Convene nation-wide consultations that include women of diverse backgrounds in civil society, government and political parties to promote dialogue, networking, confidence building and the formulation of a women s peace agenda. I.A.5. Engage a local expert to conduct a gender analysis of the issues on the agenda to identify areas where specific needs and concerns exist. Disseminate the analysis to women leaders to mobilize their constituencies. 6 UNIFEM

17 I.A.6. Building on the gender analysis, convene women leaders and international gender experts to formulate a targeted response to specific issues and provide draft language for the accord that is legally accurate and conceptually clear. B. Early in the peace process, the identification of strategic entry points for women s participation can significantly heighten their access to the table and impact on the accords. At the outset of negotiations, the international community can play a unique role in guaranteeing women s participation by identifying strategic entry points in the process. Although international mediators face a number of challenges at this stage and do not want to impose major conditions on the parties, Security Council resolution 1325 and other international mechanisms mandate that they ensure women s inclusion in peace talks. This conundrum has been creatively addressed in several cases. Box 2: Winning Constituency Support for the Women s Peace Movement in Northern Ireland In Northern Ireland, the definition of relevant negotiating parties was expanded. US Senator George Mitchell recognized the fractured political nature of the region and established a benchmark for inclusion based on popular choice. The ten political parties with the highest numbers of votes in a national election won seats at the table. The women s peace movement, which brought together Catholics and Protestants, quickly formed a political party, drew on its constituency for support and won enough votes to obtain a seat. No one could accuse them of not having a constituency, or of not being fully legitimate participants. Recommended Actions I.B.1. Advocate directly with the negotiating parties for a minimum of 30% women s representation in their delegations, as called for in the Beijing Platform for Action; also request 30% women s representation among formal observers and the elevation of women as a group to observer status. I.B.2. Create a directory of women s civil society organizations through field-based consultations with women s groups and leaders, including refugees and internally displaced populations. I.B.3. Broker meetings between women s groups, the facilitator and negotiating parties so that women can formally request direct participation in the peace talks; continue these meetings throughout the peace process. I.B.4. Support the establishment of a women s advisory committee to the negotiations process to track and influence the formal peace process. I.B.5. Assist women s organizations with awareness-raising campaigns to publicly convey the importance of their participation in the peace process. I.B.6. Ensure that consultative processes and civil society input feeds directly into the formal negotiations. Securing the Peace 7

18 Box 3: Expanding the Peace Table to Include Civil Society Perspectives in Guatemala In Guatemala, the table itself was extended, and UN-mediated negotiations established a standing forum, the Civil Society Assembly (ASC), in a framework agreement signed by the parties to the conflict. Funded by bilateral donors, the ASC represented a wide cross-section of Guatemalan society and was composed of 11 clusters, including indigenous organizations, women s groups, business associations, academics, the media and others. The ASC was mandated to discuss the substantive issues under consideration at the official negotiating table; develop and offer consensus-based, non-binding positions in each area; and review and endorse the final draft agreements. This structure, with its emphasis on consensus and its adherence to the timeframe of the bilateral negotiations, helped women s groups to define and unite behind a common agenda. Women s groups successfully lobbied to be included as a distinct sector of the Assembly, and the traditional women s movement, together with women in indigenous organizations, addressed the substance of the talks and engaged the sole woman negotiator at the formal peace table to integrate a gender perspective into the final accords. Women s advocacy efforts and their presence in the ACS and at the peace table were instrumental in attaining specific commitments to gender equality, especially for rural and indigenous women. One result was the unprecedented recognition of indigenous women in the text of the accords and the establishment in 1999 of the Indigenous Women s Defence Office. The Guatemalan government agreed to revise national legislation to eliminate discriminatory laws or clauses, and women won land ownership rights and commitments to equal access to credit, education, housing, health care and political participation. 8 UNIFEM

19 II. Constructing an Enabling Environment A. Structures and mechanisms within the office of the facilitator, mediator or mission can enhance the integration of a gender perspective in peace negotiations. The facilitator or mediator of peace negotiations, while having no jurisdiction over the final decisions of the negotiating parties, does have a crucial role to play in steering the negotiations. His or her support, even if indirect, can be vital in getting women to the peace table and ensuring that their perspectives are incorporated into the accords. Even logistical decisions which may seem minor in some cases can serve to advantage or disadvantage women. If a timeline for negotiations is brief, for example, public education and consultation is limited, and women often with a steeper learning curve than men due to traditional roles and position in society may not yet be positioned or prepared for effective participation. The geographic venue for talks may also prohibit women s participation due to household responsibilities and the expense of travel. The rules of procedure are equally important; at this juncture, the facilitator can recall the provisions of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) for all actors to include women among their negotiating delegations. With regard to agenda setting, international mediators should take it upon themselves to consult with civil society actors, including women s organizations, to better understand their perspectives, concerns and solutions and to explore opportunities for enabling their inclusion in formal talks. In this way, the international community and the facilitator, in particular, can work with negotiating parties to ensure that all relevant actors are, at the very least, given the opportunity to provide input into the process. Although qualifications in selecting a facilitator rarely include gender sensitivity, some individual facilitators have become champions of gender equality and supported women s participation in the peace process in various settings. In Burundi, for example, both facilitators Julius Nyerere, former president of Tanzania, followed by Nelson Mandela met with women and encouraged official delegations to include women on their teams and as formal participants in the process. At the Inter-Congolese Dialogues, Sir Ketumile Masire, former president of Botswana, issued a joint statement with UNIFEM proposing specific actions to increase women s effective participation in the peace process. In both situations, women were eventually included, and gender-sensitive outcomes were attained in the peace agreements and transitional laws. The make-up of the facilitator or mediator s team is also critical to the successful incorporation of a gender perspective and the active participation of women in the negotiations and resulting agreement. It is essential for the team to be gender balanced and for all team members to be cognizant of gender issues. In addition, the facilitator or mediator should appoint at least one high-level gender adviser as part of the team, funded from the same sources as other positions. The role of the gender adviser(s), with support from UNIFEM and other UN agencies on the ground when appropriate, should include providing a gender analysis, which will clarify the needs, concerns and potential contributions of women and girls, and examining all negotiations documents with a gender perspective. Recommended Actions II.A.1. Offer training to members of the negotiating parties both male and female regarding the importance of including a gender perspective in the peace process. II.A.2. Encourage gender-sensitive rules of procedure to allow women s full participation. Securing the Peace 9

20 Box 4: Institutionalizing a Gender-sensitive Negotiating Capability: IGAD s Women s Desk In lengthy peace processes, facilitation mechanisms may extend beyond the office of the facilitator or mediator to become a standing body. In 2000, the countries of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) established a Secretariat in Nairobi to facilitate an ongoing process of negotiations for East African conflict-affected states. At this critical juncture, UNIFEM supported the creation of a Women s Desk at the Secretariat to strengthen women s participation and ensure a gender perspective in IGAD-facilitated peace process. Through the Women s Desk, the international community has provided a gender expert for the mediation team, a resource centre for women delegates and capacity building for women leaders, including the female participants to the Somali National Reconciliation Conference. These combined efforts resulted in a sustained presence of 35 Somali women delegates and observers at the Conference, integration of specific women s rights issues and gender equality commitments in the negotiated Charter and the adoption of a 12% quota for women in the National Assembly and 25% for regional assembly seats. 11 In 2002, in recognition of its contributions, the Women s Desk formally became an institution of IGAD, officially part of its mandate and budget. II.A.3. Actively seek out the assistance and input of women s civil society organizations and other relevant agencies when drafting the terms of reference for the facilitator and a gender adviser. To the facilitation team: II.A.4. Promote strong representation of women in delegations and/or as a group and advocate for the inclusion of women s concerns on the official agenda for talks; explicitly raise the importance of this issue with negotiating parties. II.A.5. Meet with women s groups regularly; explain the process, agenda and procedures of the negotiations to their representatives. II.A.6. Promote gender balance and expertise within the facilitation team and among the expert advisers attached to the process; provide opportunities for internal capacity building through training on the impact of war on women, the relevance of gender equality to conflict and peacebuilding and the practical implications of women s participation in all aspects of the peace process and post-conflict reconstruction. II.A.7. Appoint a gender adviser to liaise with all parties at the negotiations to promote a gender perspective and to provide guidance, especially to women at the peace table and civil society representatives, particularly with regard to honing and advancing their common agenda within the process. B. Women and their organizations require specific forms of support to maximize their participation in peace negotiations. The most effective advocates for women s participation are women themselves. But in order for them to be effective, women must enjoy protection from security threats, sufficient resources to maximize their efforts, political space in which to organize and access to decision-makers. While the expenses of negotiating parties are usually borne by a designated fund, women are often obliged to finance their own participation. As official talks are generally held at international venues over extended periods of time, women may be unable to sustain the expense of involvement for the duration of 10 UNIFEM

21 negotiations. They are often doubly burdened, as many women must bear the cost of lost income, as well as childcare. Financial support for women leaders and their organizations is critical to facilitate a seat for women at the peace table. Once financial support has been procured for their participation, security threats facing women overwhelm all other considerations in determining the extent to which women will be able to fully engage in peace negotiations. The assassination of Starlin Abdi Arush, a female delegate to the Somali peace negotiations in Nairobi, on 24 October 2002 is but one terrible example of the dangers that women face by taking visible, and often controversial, roles. Programmes might range from awareness raising and media campaigns promoting women s role in the peace process to the provision of satellite phones and security personnel to women leaders. Ensuring women s participation at the peace table requires special protections for women leaders, and funding must be allocated for their security needs. In addition to logistical needs regarding funding and protection, women have called on organizations, including UNIFEM, to provide them with the skills and training they need to effectively participate in negotiations, conflict resolution and peace-building. Capacity building is therefore an important task for the UN, partner organizations and NGOs facilitating women s participation in peace talks. Since prolonged training sessions limit women s ability to participate, a number of short, well-targeted sessions should be considered. Trainers should consist of international, regional and local experts. In addition to coalition building, courses should include, but not be limited to: Conflict resolution and gender-sensitive peace-building, such as mediation, negotiation and best practices of other peace processes; Thematic post-conflict issues, such as disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, constitution drafting, elections, legal reform and macro-economic planning; Political issues, such as democratization, leadership, political parties, advocacy, campaign strategies, constituency building and voter education; as well as Organizational skills, such as grant writing, strategic planning, computer training, public speaking and media relations. UNIFEM and other partners have provided capacity building at critical stages of the peace process for women from countries including Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and many others. In line with a decision of the IGAD Council of Ministers to officially recognize women participants at the Somali peace talks in Eldoret, the IGAD Women s Desk, UNIFEM, the Collaborative Centre for Gender and Development and other organizations conducted a series of training sessions, seminars and discussions aimed at getting the women fully conversant with negotiating a peace process that would apply to all parties and peoples in Somalia. The progress made in the National Reconciliation Conference for Somalia was closely linked to the preparation through training sessions and workshops that both women and men had undergone since October As a result of this learning experience, women had gained persuasive powers in their dealings with the negotiating parties. 12 In addition to UN and multi-lateral agencies, various international civil society groups have worked with women s organizations at this critical stage. The US-based NGO Women Waging Peace, for example, identified and convened a diverse spectrum of women leaders from Sudan in Women leaders from the government, civil society, the Sudan People s Liberation Movement/Army and grassroots activists from throughout the country, including Darfur, gathered in Washington for three days of networking, training and consensus building. After achieving a common platform for peace, they drew upon their recent training to meet with leaders in Washington and New York to disseminate their points and advocate for women s participation in the Sudanese negotiations. 13 Securing the Peace 11

22 Recommended Actions II.B.1. Establish specific security measures to allow women s access to and full participation in negotiations. II.B.2. Allocate adequate resources within UN budgets to support women s preparation for and participation in peace processes through a) capacity-building programmes; b) national consultations in advance of peace negotiations; and c) national campaigns to raise public awareness of women's right to participate in the peace process. II.B.3. Dedicate funds within donor governments and other organizations for women s capacity building and technical support throughout the peace process. II.B.4. Provide sustained funding or other resources such as security, housing, food or transport to facilitate women s involvement for the duration of negotiations. II.B.5. Conduct a capacity and needs assessment to identify the training and support required to increase women s effectiveness in the negotiations. Implement projects and programs to address the needs uncovered in the assessment. II.B.6. Provide a gender analysis of issues on the agenda to the facilitator, the negotiating parties, women delegates and other influential actors. II.B.7. Support the creation of a dedicated space, such as a Women s Resource Centre, on-site at the negotiation venue to enable women to network, jointly strategize, share information and build consensus and a strong coalition. II.B.8. Support and assign a gender expert to the Women s Resource Centre for the benefit of all parties to the negotiations, including women; the expert should identify entry points to make the negotiations more responsive to the needs and aspirations of both women and men. II.B.9. Provide briefings and/or background papers to the negotiating parties outlining international conventions, Security Council resolutions and presidential statements and policy initiatives regarding women s participation in the peace process; include relevant lessons learned and best practices. 12 UNIFEM

23 III. Sustaining Women s Involvement A. Women have specific needs, priorities and strategies that must be included in the peace agreement to guarantee their fulfillment during implementation. Peace negotiations and the signing of peace agreements are just the beginning of a long process of reconciliation, recovery and rebuilding. Accords generally lead to a series of reforms that last well into the post-conflict transition and reconstruction period and may include modalities for power-sharing arrangements, blueprints for economic reconstruction, constitutional, judicial and legislative reforms, plans for demobilization and reintegration of soldiers and/or plans for return and resettlement of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). As the Secretary-General notes: If a peace agreement fails to note specifically the importance of gender equality, any measures proposed to promote gender equality in the implementation phase can be interpreted as beyond the scope of the peace mandate. 14 Gender-sensitive structures and issues to incorporate in peace accords might include: women s rights in new constitutions; equal participation in political and economic decision-making at national and local levels; establishment of national machinery to support women s rights such as a women s ministry or gender equality commission; Box 5: Making Sure Women Get a Hearing: International Efforts to Brief Negotiating Parties in Burundi International support to ensure women s priorities are heard by official delegations can be critical to ensuring their inclusion in the peace agreement. In Burundi, after significant advocacy, seven women leaders participated as permanent observers to the Arusha peace talks, allowing them access to plenary sessions, but barring them from formal deliberations. In response, and with support of the facilitation team, UNIFEM and the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation organized a high-level briefing for the heads of delegations, the facilitation team and others on how women s rights could be incorporated into the formal Burundi peace accord. As a result, delegates officially recognized women s contributions to peace building and guaranteed women s direct involvement in the accord s implementation. In addition, delegations agreed to an All-Party Burundi Women s Conference that would allow women to make specific recommendations vis-à-vis the accords and their implementation. The Conference, organized with the support of UNIFEM, the UN Departments for Political Affairs and Public Information, the Swedish International Development Agency and the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation, brought together the seven women observers as well as two women delegates from each of the 19 parties to the negotiations, representing refugees, the diaspora, business and civil society. Numerous international resource persons including the facilitation team, which briefed the women on each step of the negotiations offered their support as women drafted gender-sensitive recommendations that they hoped would influence the peace accords. The women presented their list of recommendations to Nelson Mandela, the facilitator, then directly addressed a meeting of the negotiating parties and presented their 20 recommendations to the official delegations. More than half of their recommendations were incorporated into the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement for Burundi, signed on 28 August Among the women s recommendations were clauses requiring that any repatriation exercise should be voluntary, based on prior consultation with all refugees, women as well as men; and that efforts would be made to ensure that women returning from refugee and displacement camps would have legal provision for access to their former lands and properties, so as to have some security of livelihood upon their return. Securing the Peace 13

24 laws and action against GBV; gender-sensitive police forces; gender equality in inheritance rights and access to land, property, healthcare, housing, education, employment and credit. In some cases, the contributions of women to negotiations and peace agreements are specifically related to the promotion of gender equality; at other times, their insight is directed at broader community needs. Regarding disarmament, for example, when women are not involved in decisionmaking, their needs and concerns and even their presence are generally neglected. In Sierra Leone, women and girls were not defined as fighters and were therefore not eligible to participate in DDR programs or receive benefits packages, including vocational training and stipends, available to their male counterparts. In El Salvador, however, women leaders at the negotiating table and in implementation committees ensured that the names of female fighters, as well as non-combatant supporters of the opposition movement, were included in beneficiary lists for land. Women s presence made the process more inclusive and ultimately more sustainable, averting a near-certain crisis among the rural population. Recommended Actions III.A.1. Ensure gender balance and expertise on the drafting committee; sensitize all members to the need for specific provisions that address the special needs of war-affected women and girls, as well as issues related to gender equality. III.A.2. Urge the facilitator or mediator to promote clear, specific provisions in the language of the peace agreement to ensure women s participation in transitional and post-conflict mechanisms, including in the power-sharing arrangement. B. After a peace agreement has been signed, opportunities exist to maximize women s participation in implementation and monitoring efforts. The ultimate responsibility for implementing a peace agreement lies with its signatories. The international community, however, also has a role to play in maintaining gender issues at the forefront of their work, in accordance with internationally agreed-upon norms and standards. Their efforts should support women s organizations by establishing specific mechanisms and/or special measures, as called for by CEDAW and Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), to guarantee women s full involvement throughout the implementation phase. Such mechanisms can be realized via constitutional, judicial, legislative and electoral reforms and by bodies established specifically to monitor implementation of the accords. Moreover, key facets of the agreement, such as a timeframe for implementation and the distribution of funds for reconstruction, must make explicit reference to gender issues. The international community can back the implementation process through training, gender-sensitive resource allocation, support to women s organizations and capacity building. In addition, a gender perspective must be mainstreamed throughout the many development processes that begin following the signing of the peace accord. At present, despite concentrated efforts to bring women to the negotiating table, very little has been done to ensure that commitments to women are followed through during the implementation of agreements. It is vital that women s priorities are reflected in post-conflict needs assessments, donors conferences, Common Country Assessments, UN Development Assistance Frameworks, the elaboration of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, Public Expenditure Reviews and so on. Without women s involvement and gender awareness informing this stage of the transition to peace, women s needs, concerns and contributions will continue to be overlooked. 14 UNIFEM